Israel defends restrictions on Palestinian soccer players

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been attempting to mediate the grievances.

JERUSALEM: Israel's sports minister has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter to defend her country's travel restrictions on some Palestinian players on security grounds.

The Palestine Football Association has urged the FIFA Congress, which is meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the World Cup, to suspend Israel from FIFA unless it lifts restrictions on Palestinian players.

Blatter tried to mediate the grievances during a trip to Jerusalem and the West Bank in late May.

He has repeatedly urged the parties to "separate politics and sports" and to find a way to ease the movement of Palestinian footballers.

Israel has cited concerns about possible attacks by Palestinian militants as the main reason for sweeping restrictions on movement that affect most Palestinians, including athletes.

Israel prevents virtually all travel between the West Bank and Gaza, two territories that lie on opposite sides of Israel and are sought by the Palestinians as part of a future state.

Advertisement

Israeli Sports Minister Limor Livnat wrote to Blatter to say that Israel would allow Palestinian athletes to "exit and enter for the purpose of sports, excluding occasions in which there are attempts to make use of sports in order to injure or threaten the security of our citizens".

The minister said Israel detained a Palestinian national team player, Sameh Maraabeh, in late April on suspicion he met with a "military activist" of the Islamic militant group Hamas during the team's training in Qatar.

She alleged that the player received funds, a mobile phone and a written message from the Hamas activist. Maraabeh remains in detention.

"I am confident you will find this information worrisome and constituting clear evidence of the misuse of sports in a fashion that threatens the security of Israeli civilians," Livnat wrote.